Ron Taylor 1937-2005

Sadly my father passed away yesterday morning, peacefully and painlessly. He had been very ill for some time, so eventually he did not have the strength to keep fighting. He was the kind of father you would have wanted and the kind of father you would like to be yourself, unconditional and selfless with his affection & love.

Without his support & encouragement I don't think I would have had quite the same luck in life. It wasn't easy dreaming of being a pop star in 1974, but he allowed me to believe it was possible to make those dreams come true. He was very proud, as you can imagine, of all five of us. We are a big family of 25 years, so you can imagine his joy when we recently played in Newcastle to 10,000 mad geordies - I think it was one of the proudest days of his life...to see us back together, better than ever and all of us so happy to be there.

So I would simply like to thank a few people...

Firstly the hospital team, Ward 7, North Tyneside General, lead by the exceptional Mr Liam Horgan, one of the finest individuals I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. His staff and the nurses on the ward are a truly motivated set of people: they do this day-in day-out - a vocational devotion And those lovely geordie girls that were with him till the end, all I can say is thank you to each and every one of you for all the care that you gave him.

To all the other Doctors and nurses, specialists and surgeons, you did all you could and through that you gave us five more cherished years.

My brother for being stronger than I ever realised, and keeping me in touch throughout this emotional roller-coaster.

And finally my mother, Sandra, who cared for my dad everyday, whatever the weather, she never gave up right till the bitter end.

Rest in peace dad.

Andy Taylor, March 23, 2005